THE KINGDOM OF GOD

What is a Kingdom? A kingdom is a realm or sphere in which one thing is dominant. A state or government having a king or a queen as its head.

Why are there terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of heaven in the Bible and do they mean different things? Mark and Luke use a Greek term commonly translated in English as "kingdom of God. Some Biblical scholars speculate that the Matthew text adopted the Greek word for heaven instead of the Greek word for "God" because, unlike Mark and Luke, it was written by a Jew for a Jewish audience.

The most likely time, is that the Kingdom of God began on earth at Pentecost. WHEN IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?

WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD? I think Jesus is saying that His Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom not a physical one. The Kingdom of God is already within you.

WHO GETS INTO THE KINGDOM AND HOW DO THEY GET IN? Must be born of water and of spirit. Born of water signifies physical birth. Born of spirit signifies spiritual birth.

Matthew 5:3Blessed are the poor in spirit Read Luke 6:20Blessed are the poor Poor in spirit means lacking, so in this case perhaps it means that they are in the very beginnings of their spiritual understanding, like a child. While Matthew refers to lacking spiritual growth, Luke is referring to a lack of material possessions.

Children have a simple and unquestioning trust that God requires from those who enter into the Kingdom. They have a sense of dependence and an innocence. We come as a child in the Spirit and grow from there.

Rich back then equated to being blessed by God, but this man let his riches separate him from God. Selling everything is not a universal requirement for everyone, but a hyperbole to get rid of anything that separates you from God so that you can enter the Kingdom.

It is only possible by God’s grace that we can enter into the Kingdom of God. Some disciples had probably start to address Jesus as Lord as a term of respect. Here Jesus shows that it will not be enough to own him for our Master, only in word and tongue. It is necessary that we believe in Christ, that we repent of sin, that we live a holy life, and that we love one another. The key words here are SAY and DO.

Sometimes one who rebels is brought to repentance and becomes the Lord's servant, while one who is so formal about their religion grows hardened in pride and enmity. So some who appear to be close to God may actually be far away.

We all have opportunities to serve and do God’s will. Some of us pass those opportunities by. Some of us do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Are we bearing fruit for God’s kingdom?

WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD LIKE?

Read Matthew 13: So what we see here is that Jesus is going to speak about the Kingdom in parables, using metaphors to describe it.

Read Matthew 13: What meaning do you take from this parable? Drawn from an observation of everyday life An earthly story with heavenly meaning

The weed is the poisonous bearded darnel that grows the same height as wheat but is considered a perverted kind of wheat by rabbis The servants are disciples who wish to purge the church of the unfaithful This is a very tricky area to deal with in the church today. It is disastrous to try and grow a sinless church How would you like that in today’s church?

Man sows seeds that fall in many different places Some is lost and some grows In Palestine, seed is sown before plowing, ground may be seen as suitable only later Path implies it lands where birds could see it Rocky ground means thin soil over a rocky ledge where seeds sprout quickly because of warm rocks The soil not the sower is the main theme The seed is the good news but the parable focuses on the hearer

Four main groups of hearers 1. Some are dull and hardened by life. Their soil is like the pathway of life, everything goes over it. Only a plow share (tragedy) can break its hardness 2. Some are shallow, they have an initial enthusiastic response which soon fades 3. Some have a divided life. Their life is cluttered with thorns. They have wonderful potential but will not surrender the world to follow Jesus 4. Some are fertile soil and the word multiplies greatly through them

In your own life What gives you roots? How can you get rid of the thorns in your life? What worries choke out the growth of seed in your life? If you were to take the word of God seriously for 30 days would you 1. Plow up soil and start over 2. Remove rocks 3. Do some serious weeding 4. Let God do His thing

Read Matthew 13: Explain what this parable says to you? Rabbis considered mustard as a field crop not to be planted in a garden. Mustard was harvested as a vegetable. It may grow to a height of 10 feet or more. Shows what great things can happened from such small beginnings They were competing against large pagan cults, entrenched Judaism, and Rome’s military might

Read Matthew 13: 33 Explain what this parable says to you? Rabbis use yeast as a term for evil influence Jesus uses it to describe the kingdom Maybe it is liking taking the law and influencing it with love Have you ever seen mustard seed faith or yeast influence?

Read Matthew 13: 44 Explain what this parable says to you? Peasants of the middle east still occasionally find hoards of coins May have had poor ethics to hide the value of the field This man was not searching but found it. The Kingdom of God is so desirable that man would sell all he owns to have it. What would you give up to have eternal life?

Read Matthew 13: Explain what this parable says to you? The pearl is found only after a long search Pearls were articles of commerce at the time The finding of the pearl was not an accident God’s pearls are waiting for all those who seek What are you seeking for right now?

Read Matthew 13: The word for net means a kind that has one end tied to a boat and the other end tied to the shore or another boat. When net is dragged to shore it pulls in fish of all kinds. The kingdom of God draws people from all walks of life cultures, attitudes, etc. Those throwing the net cannot make distinctions Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus had no intention of forming a pure church containing only perfect people. The judgment is not ours. We only offer salvation & forgiveness through Christ. Explain what this parable says to you? How accepting are we as a church of those who are different than us?